QriLeader
이지현- Name
- Lee Ji-hyun
- Born
- 12 December 1986
Released her first solo single, "Suri Suri", in September 2021, twelve years after debut.
Their story
How it started
T-ARA was formed by Core Contents Media, the company later known as MBK Entertainment. The name comes from the word "tiara", the crown a queen wears, and the fans are called Queen's. The line-up changed before the debut: two original members, Jiae and Jiwon, left in June 2009. The group debuted in July 2009 with the single "Lies". The first full album, Absolute First Album, followed in November 2009.
The breakthrough
"Bo Peep Bo Peep", the lead song of that album, became their breakthrough hit. It won five music show trophies, two on Music Bank and three on Inkigayo, and the group took Rookie of the Year at the Golden Disc Awards. "Roly-Poly" then became Gaon's No. 1 single of 2011. The same year their Japanese debut single, a Japanese version of "Bo Peep Bo Peep", reached No. 1 on the Oricon singles chart.
Their sound and style
Several of their hits drew on older dance music. "Roly-Poly" is a take on 1970s disco, and the repackage Again 1977 included a remake of a 1977 hit by the Sand Pebbles. NME wrote that "Lovey-Dovey" (2012) made them queens of the dance floor. "Sugar Free" (2014) moved to EDM and became a club staple across Asia. The video for "Cry Cry" (2011) runs about 30 minutes, closer to a short film.
Where they are now
Boram and Soyeon left in May 2017 when their contracts ended, and T-ARA continued as Qri, Eunjung, Hyomin and Jiyeon. The four left MBK in January 2018 but never announced a disbandment. In November 2021 they paid for the single album Re:T-ARA themselves, with the title tracks "Tiki Taka" and "All Kill". The members also work on their own, in solo music and acting. They meet fans together, with 15th anniversary fan meetings in Shanghai and Macau in 2024 and the fan concert Summer Again in Kuala Lumpur on 9 August 2026.
